Something Found
by WriterandDaydreamer4218
Summary: Three weeks after the battle at Starkiller Base, Rey leaves the Resistance to find Luke Skywalker and start her Jedi training. As she learns about meditation and the ways of the Force, she also learns about her past and even the temptation of the Dark Side-because the First Order isn't dead yet. And sooner or later, she'll have to face Kylo Ren again. Continuation of TFA.


**Welcome to my first Star Wars fanfiction! I've seen** ** _The Force Awakens_** **twice now and I love it-but the ending left me with so many questions that I felt compelled to dash off this quick little scene.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Star Wars.**

 **Enjoy!**

Rey stared out the window of the _Millennium Falcon_ at the green and blue planet beneath her, large green masses coalescing into islands before her eyes. Three weeks ago she would never have believed that there could be forests that green or seas that blue, but now she regarded the beautiful vista with simply a knowing smile. The galaxy was far bigger than the desert planet of Jakku, she was now beginning to realize. She'd barely even scratched the surface. Besides, after the events at Starkiller Base she was beginning to realize that anything was possible-and a simple desert scavenger like herself could become a Jedi.

Of course, that was assuming Luke Skywalker would even train her.

She shivered in excitement. _Luke Skywalker._ Luke Skywalker was a hero of the Rebellion, a myth almost as well travelled as the stories of the Jedi Knights themselves. She couldn't quite get over the fact that he was _real,_ that she was even now en route to see him. It had been years since he'd had any sort of human contact; she didn't know what to expect now. Her whole life had changed in just a few short weeks-and it didn't look like things would be slowing down anytime soon.

Unbidden, thoughts of Kylo Ren crept into her head again-making her shiver. _You need a teacher._ If she closed her eyes, she could easily transport herself back to that wintry forest-a blue lightsaber in her hand as she dueled for her own life against a Sith lord in training. Thinking back on that fight she was sure he'd let her beat her-there was no way she could have held her own otherwise-but she couldn't deny that there had been some greater power at work-telling her in subtle ways when to block and when to strike. She'd been trying to recapture that force at night, in her new bedroom at Resistance headquarters, but she hadn't quite gotten the same effect. She'd heard tales about the Jedi of old-how they could move items with their mind and call objects to them. So far, she'd had no such luck. Perhaps Kylo Ren was right. Maybe she did need a teacher. But not him. Certainly not someone who would kill their own father…

She couldn't think about that. She couldn't think about Han Solo, and how that red lightsaber had cut through his flesh like it was butter…murdered by his own son. He was the only person close to a father figure she could remember having. He'd offered her a job. He'd offered her a place to belong when no one else had.

That was why she was here-to, hopefully, find a teacher. To find a place where she could belong.

 _"Are you sure about this?" Poe Dameron asked as he secured her one suitcase in the Falcon's hold. "You have the makings of a great pilot."_

 _She nodded, refusing to let herself even consider another option. "Positive. If there's a chance that I can be trained…" She trailed off, hoping he would understand._

 _Thankfully, he did. "I understand. I hope you find what you're looking for."_

 _"Me too. Look after Finn." He still hadn't woken up. Med droids worked day and night to try and fix him-although it didn't seem like anything they were doing was working, at least in Rey's opinion._

 _"Of course." Poe replied._

 _Just then Chewbacca roared something from the pilot's chair-something to the effect that they had to get going if they were going to reach Luke's system by the time the sun set. "I have to go." Rey said, climbing into the hold and running a hand down the Falcon's side lovingly. She'd long since changed her opinion that the YT-1300 freighter was a piece of garbage. It had character, it had charm…and it was the fastest ship she'd ever seen._

 _"Wait." Poe said, placing a hand on her forearm to stop her._

 _"What is it?" she asked curiously, hoping she hadn't forgotten anything._

 _He sighed, closing his eyes. "Come back, Rey. It doesn't have to be for long, but…please come back to visit."_

 _"On my honor." She gave him one last smile and walked away, ready to face the future and whatever was coming next._

Chewbacca growled to get her attention, saying they needed to start landing procedures. Instantly Rey jumped to work, letting her hands go on autopilot as they danced over the Falcon's controls. The planet grew bigger and bigger below them, until soon she was seeing clouds and blue sea rather than the black infinity of space.

They pulled in to land at a small spit of rock jutting into the sea. A gravel path wound its way up to a large outcropping of old stone buildings high on some nearby cliffs-Rey's heart gave a small jump; this had to be the first Jedi temple-meandering through small meadows dotted with green and purple flowers and past small blue streams. It looked like the perfect place for total seclusion-the ideal hiding place for somebody who didn't want to be found. For a minute she sat in the copilot's seat and got her bearings, taking a couple of deep breaths to calm the frantic beating of her heart. She could somehow tell that she was standing on the edge of a sword-that after this moment, her life would never be the same.

She had to embrace her destiny. There was no other option.

Chewbacca inquired what was wrong and she shook herself out of her daze. "Nothing's wrong. I'm going." She pulled her suitcase over her shoulder and climbed down, feeling a soft thump as her feet touched green grass at the bottom of the jet way. It wasn't large; she hadn't exactly been able to take much from Jakku in her mad escape. The Resistance had provided her with a few new outfits but she'd decided to go with her Jakku clothing for this occasion, to remind herself who she was and where she was headed. "I'll come back as soon as I know where I stand."

Rey took the gravel path, letting her feet lead her up to the top of the bluff. The air felt fresh and clean on her hot skin; a cold breeze blew through her small sweater, cutting into her like a knife. It felt like no living thing had ever been here; apart from the birds singing in the trees there were no sounds of living beings. No power generators sputtering to stay online, no Dugs and Rodians haggling over prices in an overcrowded marketplace. She could imagine the first Jedi here, practicing the Force in heavy stone temples in absolute peace and tranquility. Once or twice she stopped to look at the _Falcon,_ barely a smear of grey on the sandy horizon.

Finally she reached an open field, where a cloaked figure stood watching the horizon for something she couldn't see. When he heard her approach he looked up, piercing green eyes seeming to look into her very soul. Somehow she believed that he knew who she was before she even told him anything-and she knew that he was Luke Skywalker. Who else could he be? The man surveyed her for a moment, something inscrutable in his eyes-so she took a moment to survey him too. He didn't look the way she'd imagine he would look-he wasn't the warrior of old. Instead, he looked like one of the hermits back on Jakku who had made their homes in the desert to meditate day and night and hadn't talked to a soul in ten years. He was wearing a heavy brown robe, with runaway hair and an equally runaway beard as if he hadn't been offworld in years-perhaps even decades. He looked familiar, though she couldn't have said how.

Almost as if she had practiced it, she planted her feet in the green grass and pulled the lightsaber out of her bag, holding it out in his direction. He didn't do or say anything for a moment but she didn't let that discourage her. She just kept holding the lightsaber out, hoping against hope her journey hadn't been in vain.

 _The med bay was dark and quiet, bacta fluid swishing quietly and machines beeping to take patients' blood pressures and heartbeats. She bit her lip, walking inside on light feet. She couldn't imagine that she was allowed to be here, though no one had explicitly told her she couldn't. She scanned the room of beds and all the patients moaning in pain, looking for one person in particular._

 _Finn was lying on the cot closest to the window. Moonlight filtered over his short black hair, giving his skin a grey tinge as he lay prostrate. She walked to his side and took his hand, willing him to wake up and willing him to remember her. Why hadn't he woken up yet? The medical droids said they had fixed the worst of the damage to his chest and back; he was supposed to wake up any day now. But each day dragging by seemed longer and longer than the one before it-and no one so much as stirred. "Finn." she whispered, tugging on the edge of his jacket and wondering just how he had come to mean so much to her so quickly. Growing up on Jakku she hadn't had the opportunity to make many friends-and then he'd come crashing into her life-quite literally, she might add-and changed everything. "Finn, wake up."_

 _There was no change. She sighed deeply. Deep down, she hadn't been expecting one. "I'm leaving tomorrow, Finn. I'm going to find Luke Skywalker. If all goes well, he can train me to be a Jedi." She still wasn't sure about the idea, but General Organa had wholeheartedly endorsed it-and Luke was her brother. "I'm quite excited about it…but that means I have to go to a system I know nothing about to meet a myth who may or may not want to help me."_

 _She stood by his bedside for quite a while, willing him to wake up and look at her with those laughing eyes. Finally, as the first light of dawn began to color the curtains of the med bay a soft grey, she squeezed his hand one more time, knowing she had to get going. "I'll see you soon-and I expect you to be up and walking around when I see you next." Brushing the hair out of his eyes tenderly, she took one last breath, steeling herself for the journey ahead, and walked into the morning's light._

"Who are you?" he asked quietly, looking her over with an appraising eye. She forced herself to stand taller, straighter.

"Rey." she said, her voice dry and cracked.

"Why are you here?"

"I want to be trained."

He closed his hand around the lightsaber's hilt, pulling it out of her hand in one smooth motion. "I don't train Jedi anymore."

"That doesn't mean you can't."

He sighed, rubbing the side of his head as if he had a really bad headache. "You don't know what happened-"

"I know you were training a group of young Jedi-including your nephew, Ben Solo. I know that, despite your careful tutelage, he turned to the Dark Side. I know you've never been able to forgive yourself-but I also know you were trained under the Jedi Master, Yoda. You may be the only person alive today who remembers the Jedi code and teachings. And that's why…I need your help."

Luke still looked at her carefully, as if she was in the middle of some sort of test and he was the one judging whether she would pass or fail. "Why did you come here? Who sent you?"

"General Organa. Your sister. Leia." she corrected herself quickly.

 _"You have extraordinary talent."_

 _Rey looked up quickly from where she'd been practicing with her lightsaber in the rapidly darkening courtyard. The night air practically hummed with electricity as her lightsaber flashed through the air in ever widening arcs, seeking to avoid the random blasts of the training droid. It was a crude and often painful way to train, but it was the best the Resistance had. They weren't exactly equipped to deal with young Jedi. General Organa stood in the doorway to the Resistance bunker, watching as she practiced methodically. "Thank you." she said quietly, closing her lightsaber out of respect. Immediately, the night seemed far quieter._

 _"Have you ever been instructed in the ways of the Force?"_

 _"No." Up until a short while ago, she had no idea that the Force even existed._

 _"You need a teacher." Her voice echoed that of her son's._

 _"I know. Unfortunately, I don't know where I can find one."_

 _The General seemed to think for a moment. "Rey, I have a special mission for you."_

 _That piqued her interest, in spite of herself. She'd never gone on a real mission for the Resistance-she'd had to listen to Poe go on and on about how amazing they were. Although she had helped destroy Starkiller Base, she was hardly a hero. "What is it?" She expected something easy-an information drop off, maybe a trip to one of the First Order internment camps to tag new prisoners._

 _Not "I want you to follow the map and find Luke Skywalker."_

 _No. Absolutely not. "I…me? Why?"_

 _"He's been away for far too long. He needs to come back. We need him." There was something else in her eyes: some kind of hidden pain. No doubt she'd been missing her brother just as much as the galaxy had missed the Jedi Order if not more. "Apparently he won't listen to me. Maybe he'll listen to you. Ask him to train you."_

 _"I don't think-"_

 _"He can help you harness your power-he is perhaps the only person in the entire galaxy who can. Tell him I sent you."_

 _She nodded, realizing that this was still a mission in its own right. "As you wish, General Organa."_

 _"Leia. Tell him that Leia sent you."_

Something passed over Luke's face-an expression that she couldn't name. "How do you know Leia?"

"I work with the Resistance. She said that you were the only one who could train me. I need your help."

For a minute she thought she had won him over-and then he seemed to shut down altogether. "No. I'm sorry, Rey. I can't help you. I can't help anyone-not anymore." He turned and started to make his way down the mountain, breaking Rey out of her awestruck silence. She hadn't come this far simply to be turned away.

"Wait!" she called as she raced after him, her feet slipping and sliding on the green grass underfoot. "You can't just _leave!"_

"It's for the best." he replied, not slowing his pace even the slightest bit.

"What are you so afraid of?" she said, trying to keep her temper in check.

"I'm not a teacher-"

She was getting dangerously close to her boiling point. This whole world was new to her. Her entire life had been turned upside down. She'd been given a lightsaber she didn't know what to do with, her best friend was in a coma, she didn't have a home or barely any possessions to call her own, and now she was going to lose her one chance to validate all of that-her chance to be a Jedi. And she couldn't do that. Not after everything that had happened. "I don't care. I don't fully know what happened in the past. I don't know why you decided to go into isolation-but I do know that it won't work. Sooner or later your past is going to come back to haunt you. You can stay holed up here for however long you want to-but nothing is going to change. Nothing is going to help you. Trust me. I've been alone. I know what it's like-and I know that no matter what secrets you try to hide, they always end up coming to find you when you least expect them to."

Finally he stopped walking and turned to glare at her with fire in his eyes. "I will not train another Jedi. Go back to Leia and tell her you need to find another teacher. You have talent, Rey-but I cannot help you direct it."

"You can if you tried. Why don't you tell her yourself? She misses you." That at least was true; everyone knew it.

"How can I when I failed her and Han most of all?" he said bitterly.

"You still have a chance. You can still make things right. Take on one more apprentice." she said. "Train me in the ways of the Force…and I will try to the best of my ability to turn Ben Solo back to the Light Side." It was a farfetched promise, even she could see that…but she had been inside Ben's mind, even just for a few seconds. It was a place that was full of conflict…but not full evil. Not yet. There was still time. He could still be turned. She didn't really know why she thought it had to be her-there was just something in her heart-maybe the Force, maybe not-telling her she had to try.

Luke surveyed her for a long moment and shook his head ruefully. "You remind me of someone I used to know a long time ago. Always overeager, always adventurous. Fine. If you truly desire the training of a Jedi, I can train you-but it will not be easy."

She nodded. "Whatever you need me to do, I can do it." She was sure of it.

He nodded, as if the matter was settled. "Come with me." he said, walking toward one of the stone outcroppings still in the distance. "I imagine you'll need a place to stay while you're here." She fell in step beside him, watching carefully as his feet traversed the gravel path with ease-as though he had walked this route a thousand times before. "The training of a Jedi is not easy. I sense potential in you-but you still have a lot to learn."

"I understand." she replied. "But I'm willing to try. Whatever it takes."

He turned to face her, trying one last time to sway her back. "If you continue along this path, you _will_ have to face Kylo Ren again. Your destiny and his are intertwined. Sooner or later, you will meet again. I cannot promise you that I can train you to be ready by then."

She clenched her fists, telling herself in no uncertain terms to stand firm and show her resolve in every pore of her body. "I'll be ready." At least she hoped she would be.

The faintest of smiles stole over Luke's face as he pressed the blue lightsaber into her hand. The saber seemed to hum as it settled familiarly into her palm, as if it was happy to be reunited with her once again. "Take this. You're going to need it."

 **First of all, I just want to say that this picks up right where the movie left off. As of right now I don't have any ships in mind and I don't have any theories that I'm accepting as my head cannon. There are some ideas I've been playing with, but nothing's concrete yet.**

 **This might stay a one shot but I might also make it into a full length story depending on how much my muse is telling me to write-and how many plot bunnies invade.**

 **Finally, thank you for reading! Review, follow, and favorite!**


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